Merkel defends policies,stays silent ...............
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Merkel defends policies, stays silent on populists in Bundestag speech
In her first major speech since declaring her intention to seek a fourth term, German Chancellor Angela Merkel advocated for stability and gradual progress. Conspicuously, she didn't mention Donald Trump by name.
Anyone who expected a fiery campaign speech from German Chancellor Angela Merkel was sorely disappointed by her speech on Wednesday. In a more than half-hour address to a full session of the German parliament, the chancellor sought to portray herself as the guarantor of slow but steady progress. What was noticeable in her remarks was the absence of any extended discussion of both Britain's decision to leave the European Union and Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election.
The closest Merkel got to addressing the rise of right-wing populism was to talk in general terms about changes in the world's political culture and media landscape.
"A lot of people are concerned about the stability of our social order," the chancellor said. "Suddenly it seems that what we considered self-evident isn't that self-evident after all."
Merkel said democracy, the social market economy and the culture of civilized debate were under threat and explicitly criticized fake news and social bots.
"People form their opinions differently than they did 25 years ago," Merkel said. "We have to learn to deal with and regulate this. We need to prevent hate speech because it's not compatible with our ideals. Debates have to be carried out in the spirit of respect for others."
She then moved on foreign policy, specifically Turkey and Syria. She defended maintaining contact with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, despite his increasingly undemocratic policies, and criticized Russia for supporting the Assad regime in Damascus.
She defended NATO and the European Union as international partnerships that were good for Germany, although she did acknowledge that the EU was often too cumbersome and was not always able to live up to promises concerning prosperity.
"Europe often fails to keep pace sometimes with developments," Merkel said. "Decisions need to be made more quickly. Otherwise Europe loses credibility with ordinary citizens."
She added that she was "not happy" about likely demise of Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact with the United States, which US President-elect Donald Trump said he would pull the United States out of. But she pointedly eschewed mentioning Trump by name.
Nor did she lose any direct words about the rise of the anti-immigration populist party Alternative for Germany (AfD), which is currently attracted up to 15 percent support in public opinion polls.
"Better than ever before"
Merkel said Germany should be "proud" of its role in the refugee crisis
She claimed the grand coalition between her conservative CDU-CSU and the Social Democrats had economically benefited most Germans.
"Real wages and pensions are rising," Merkel said. "Despite the suffering of some, for instance those on social benefits, which we cannot ignore, people in Germany are doing better than ever before."
She also portrayed her open stance toward waves of political refugees, especially from Syria, in the past two years as a point of pride for Germany.
"Despite all the critical discussions, last year there was a fantastic level of cooperation and solidarity," Merkel said. "Our country can truly be proud. I think is one of the most urgent political tasks the fight against illegal immigration and human trafficking."
She promised that refugees would be given instruction in German language and Western values and said that the majority of refugees wanted to integrate into German society. But she also said those who refused to integrate would not be permitted to remain in the country.
She concluded with an appeal for stability.
"We have a chance to shape global change, step by step in a humane way," Merkel said. "Let's continue working on this. Peace and security are the central needs of people in Germany."
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